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'''Ashura''' is the tenth day of [[Muharram]] (the first month of the Islamic calendar). | '''Ashura''' is the tenth day of [[Muharram]] (the first month of the Islamic calendar). The day is the climax of the Muharram mourning rituals which is a commemoration of the [[martyrdom]] of [[Hussain ibn Ali]], the grandson of the prophet of Islam, [[Muhammad]] at the Battle of [[Karbala]] on 10 Muharram in the year 61 AH. For Sunnis, it is a day on which fasting is recommended. | ||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
The root of the word Ashura has the meaning of tenth in Semitic languages. The Arabic term derives from the Hebrew word ʿasor with the Aramaic determinative ending -ā. It refers broadly to the first ten days of Muharram, but more specifically to the tenth day. | The root of the word Ashura has the meaning of tenth in Semitic languages. The Arabic term derives from the Hebrew word ʿasor with the Aramaic determinative ending -ā. It refers broadly to the first ten days of Muharram, but more specifically to the tenth day. | ||
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After the death of [[Muawiya]] in the spring of 60/680, his son [[Yazid]] succeeded him as [[caliph]]. Yazid’s succession by hereditary appointment rather than election or popular acclaim met with strong opposition in many quarters of a community already torn by conflict and dissension. Among the many dissenting groups was the party (Shiʿa) of [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|Ali b. Abi Taleb]], led by his son, Imam Hussain. Hussain’s supporters in [[Kufa]] urged him to lead them in revolt against Yazid’s rule; after some hesitation, he answered their persistent entreaties, not simply from political motives, but also because of an idealistic view of Islam that he sought to defend at all cost. His martyrdom has therefore been regarded by Muslims, Sunni as well as Shiʿite, as the model for self-sacrifice in the way of God, a revolt against wrong-doing and oppression. This fact has not been fully appreciated by most Western historians; yet it is crucial for a true understanding of the significance of Ashura for the Muslim community in general, and especially its Shiʿite members. | After the death of [[Muawiya]] in the spring of 60/680, his son [[Yazid]] succeeded him as [[caliph]]. Yazid’s succession by hereditary appointment rather than election or popular acclaim met with strong opposition in many quarters of a community already torn by conflict and dissension. Among the many dissenting groups was the party (Shiʿa) of [[ʿAli ibn Abi Talib|Ali b. Abi Taleb]], led by his son, Imam Hussain. Hussain’s supporters in [[Kufa]] urged him to lead them in revolt against Yazid’s rule; after some hesitation, he answered their persistent entreaties, not simply from political motives, but also because of an idealistic view of Islam that he sought to defend at all cost. His martyrdom has therefore been regarded by Muslims, Sunni as well as Shiʿite, as the model for self-sacrifice in the way of God, a revolt against wrong-doing and oppression. This fact has not been fully appreciated by most Western historians; yet it is crucial for a true understanding of the significance of Ashura for the Muslim community in general, and especially its Shiʿite members. | ||
Hussain left for Kufa with his family and about seventy men. On the second of Muharram, 61/680 he encamped on the plain of [[Karbala]], where he faced an army of about 4,000 men sent to intercept him by the governor of Kufa, [[ʿObaydallah b. Ziad]]. After a week of fruitless negotiations, the head of the army, [[Omar Ibn Sa’d|ʿOmar b. Saʿd]], put the choice to Hussain and his followers of either surrendering to the authority of Ibn Ziad or fighting. The battle that ensued lasted from early morning to mid-afternoon. Hussain and his followers, including the able male members of his family, were killed; | Hussain left for Kufa with his family and about seventy men. On the second of Muharram, 61/680 he encamped on the plain of [[Karbala]], where he faced an army of about 4,000 men sent to intercept him by the governor of Kufa, [[ʿObaydallah b. Ziad]]. After a week of fruitless negotiations, the head of the army, [[Omar Ibn Sa’d|ʿOmar b. Saʿd]], put the choice to Hussain and his followers of either surrendering to the authority of Ibn Ziad or fighting. The battle that ensued lasted from early morning to mid-afternoon. Hussain and his followers, including the able male members of his family, were killed; the women and children were led captive first to Kufa, then to Damascus. <ref>Tabari [Cairo], II, pp. 295-390; Mofid, Ershad, ed. Sayyed Kazem al-Miamawi, Tehran, 1377/1957-58, pp. 215ff., tr. I. K. A. Howard, London, 1981, p. 370.</ref> | ||
The death of Imam Hussain produced an immediate reaction in the Muslim community, especially in Iraq. When the people of Kufa saw his head and the pitiful state of the captives, they began to weep and beat their breasts in anguish. <ref> Yaʿqubi, ed. M. S. Baḥr-al-ʿolum, Najaf, 1384/1964, II, pp. 231ff.</ref> Many of them regretted their failure to support Hussain and were filled with remorse; they came to form the movement known as the repenters ([[Tawwabun|al-tawwabun]]). The chaos and bloodshed that followed gives eloquent testimony to the far-reaching effect of the tragedy of Karbala on subsequent Muslim history. <ref>J. Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and its Fall, tr. M. G. Weir, Beirut, 1963, esp. pp. 147-200.</ref> | The death of Imam Hussain produced an immediate reaction in the Muslim community, especially in Iraq. When the people of Kufa saw his head and the pitiful state of the captives, they began to weep and beat their breasts in anguish. <ref> Yaʿqubi, ed. M. S. Baḥr-al-ʿolum, Najaf, 1384/1964, II, pp. 231ff.</ref> Many of them regretted their failure to support Hussain and were filled with remorse; they came to form the movement known as the repenters ([[Tawwabun|al-tawwabun]]). The chaos and bloodshed that followed gives eloquent testimony to the far-reaching effect of the tragedy of Karbala on subsequent Muslim history. <ref>J. Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and its Fall, tr. M. G. Weir, Beirut, 1963, esp. pp. 147-200.</ref> | ||
Among the few who | Among the few who survived the massacre of Karbala was Hussain’s only surviving son, [[ʿAli b. al-Hussain|Ali Zayn-al-ʿabedin]], who was spared of fighting on account of his sickness; he was soon proclaimed fourth [[Imam]] by considerable segments of the Shiʿite community. His home in Medina became an important center for the growth of the Ashura cults; undoubtedly his piety, political quietism, and continuous sorrow for the tragedy provided the religious basis of the Ashura celebration. | ||
==History of the Commemoration by Shi’a== | ==History of the Commemoration by Shi’a== | ||
Commemorative services (majales al-taʿzia) first held in the houses of the imams and their followers, originally consisted of recounting the tragedy, reflecting on its meaning, and reciting elegies ([[Marthiya|marthia]]) in memory of the [[martyred Imam]]. From the beginning, these majales were not limited to the Ashura days, but were and still are held at any time of the year. Soon the shrines of the imams in Iraq and Iran became important centers of pilgrimage ([[ziara]]), where the pious held their lamentations. <ref>Ibn Qawluya, Kamel al-ziarat, ed. Mirza ʿAbdallah Hussain Amini Tabrizi, Najāf, 1356/1937, pp. 325-26.</ref> | Commemorative services (majales al-taʿzia) first held in the houses of the imams and their followers, originally consisted of recounting the tragedy, reflecting on its meaning, and reciting elegies ([[Marthiya|marthia]]) in memory of the [[martyred Imam]]. From the beginning, these majales were not limited to the Ashura days, but were and still are held at any time of the year. Soon the shrines of the imams in Iraq and Iran became important centers of pilgrimage ([[ziara]]), where the pious held their lamentations. <ref>Ibn Qawluya, Kamel al-ziarat, ed. Mirza ʿAbdallah Hussain Amini Tabrizi, Najāf, 1356/1937, pp. 325-26.</ref> | ||
During the [[Umayyad]] period, the Ashura cult and the spirit of revolt it fostered grew in secret under persecution and repression. The [[Abbasid]] rulers, who came to power on the wave of pro-ʿAlid revolt, at first encouraged and patronized large public assemblies in commemoration of the sufferings of the Prophet’s family ([[Ahl Al-Bayt]]) and the tragedy of Karbala. By the end of the 4th/10th century, professional mourners (naʾeh), also known as the reciters or story tellers (qorraʾ) of Hussain, chanted elegies and led the pious in dirges; they normally read martyrdom narratives ([[Maqtal|maqatel]]) relating the story of Hussain in all its details. | During the [[Umayyad]] period, the Ashura cult and the spirit of revolt it fostered grew in secret under persecution and repression. The [[Abbasid]] rulers, who came to power on the wave of pro-ʿAlid revolt, at first encouraged and patronized large public assemblies in commemoration of the sufferings of the Prophet’s family ([[Ahl Al-Bayt]]) and the tragedy of Karbala. By the end of the 4th/10th century, professional mourners (naʾeh), also known as the reciters or story tellers (qorraʾ) of Hussain, chanted elegies and led the pious in dirges; they normally read martyrdom narratives ([[Maqtal|maqatel]]) relating to the story of Hussain in all its details. | ||
In 351/962, under [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyid] patronage, Ashura was declared a day of public mourning in Baghdad. Processions were held in the streets of the city, markets closed, and shops draped in black. <ref>ʿAbbas Qomi, Nafas al-mahmum, p. 226, Persian tr. Romuz al-Shahada by M. B. Kamaraʾi, Tehran, 1379/1960; Hebat-al-din Shahrestani, Nahzat al-Hussain, Karbala, 1969, pp. 149ff.</ref> Special edifices were built for the celebrations of Ashura (called [[Hussainiya]]; also [[tekyeh]] in Iran), and by the end of the 3rd/9th century these were common in Cairo, Aleppo, and many Iranian cities. | In 351/962, under [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/buyids Buyid] patronage, Ashura was declared a day of public mourning in Baghdad. Processions were held in the streets of the city, markets closed, and shops draped in black. <ref>ʿAbbas Qomi, Nafas al-mahmum, p. 226, Persian tr. Romuz al-Shahada by M. B. Kamaraʾi, Tehran, 1379/1960; Hebat-al-din Shahrestani, Nahzat al-Hussain, Karbala, 1969, pp. 149ff.</ref> Special edifices were built for the celebrations of Ashura (called [[Hussainiya]]; also [[tekyeh]] in Iran), and by the end of the 3rd/9th century these were common in Cairo, Aleppo, and many Iranian cities. | ||
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This emphasis on mourning in the Moharram cultus has led some scholars to postulate a direct relation between it and the ancient myths and rites of Tammuz-Adonis. <ref>B. D. Erdmans, “Der Ursprung der Ceremonien des Hosein-Festes,” ZA 9, 1894, pp. 302ff.; Ch. Virolleaud, Le théâtre persan ou le drame de Kerbéla, Paris, 1950, pp. 128-36. </ref> To what extent the Ashura rites could have been influenced across so many centuries by these ancient myths cannot be determined; the fact that Hussain happened to die on the spot where the cult of the ancient god was celebrated is simply an interesting coincidence which proves nothing. Iranian influences on the Muharram cultus have also been suggested by scholars who point to ceremonies in seventh-century Sogdia and Kharazm commemorating the unjust death of the legendary hero Siavosh at the hands of [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afrasiab-turanian-king Afrasiab] that included breast-beating and the chanting of threnodies <ref>A. Bausani, Persia Religiosa, Milan, 1959, pp. 420-21; E. Yarshater, “Taʿziyeh and pre-Islamic mourning rites in Iran,” in Taʿziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, ed. [[Peter J. Chelkowski|P. Chelkowski]], New York, 1979, pp. 88-94). The “blood of Siavosh” (khun-e Siavosh.</ref> is, in fact, invoked in the text of at least one taʿzia <ref>C. Virolleaud, Le théâtre persan, p. 132.</ref> and there may be other echoes of the Siavosh myth in the Persian taʿzīa literature. It is, however, unlikely that memories of Siavosh should have influenced formatively the Shiʿite mourning ceremonies of Ashura, which originated in areas far removed from Outer Iran and which are perfectly explicable, in any event, in terms of the ethos of Shiʿism. | This emphasis on mourning in the Moharram cultus has led some scholars to postulate a direct relation between it and the ancient myths and rites of Tammuz-Adonis. <ref>B. D. Erdmans, “Der Ursprung der Ceremonien des Hosein-Festes,” ZA 9, 1894, pp. 302ff.; Ch. Virolleaud, Le théâtre persan ou le drame de Kerbéla, Paris, 1950, pp. 128-36. </ref> To what extent the Ashura rites could have been influenced across so many centuries by these ancient myths cannot be determined; the fact that Hussain happened to die on the spot where the cult of the ancient god was celebrated is simply an interesting coincidence which proves nothing. Iranian influences on the Muharram cultus have also been suggested by scholars who point to ceremonies in seventh-century Sogdia and Kharazm commemorating the unjust death of the legendary hero Siavosh at the hands of [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afrasiab-turanian-king Afrasiab] that included breast-beating and the chanting of threnodies <ref>A. Bausani, Persia Religiosa, Milan, 1959, pp. 420-21; E. Yarshater, “Taʿziyeh and pre-Islamic mourning rites in Iran,” in Taʿziyeh: Ritual and Drama in Iran, ed. [[Peter J. Chelkowski|P. Chelkowski]], New York, 1979, pp. 88-94). The “blood of Siavosh” (khun-e Siavosh.</ref> is, in fact, invoked in the text of at least one taʿzia <ref>C. Virolleaud, Le théâtre persan, p. 132.</ref> and there may be other echoes of the Siavosh myth in the Persian taʿzīa literature. It is, however, unlikely that memories of Siavosh should have influenced formatively the Shiʿite mourning ceremonies of Ashura, which originated in areas far removed from Outer Iran and which are perfectly explicable, in any event, in terms of the ethos of Shiʿism. | ||
It is more plausible that any parallels between the various mourning rites are due more to similarities in psychology and a general thematic continuity in mythological development by geographically related cultures. The Ashura cultus in Shiʿite Islam is based on an historical event and | It is more plausible that any parallels between the various mourning rites are due more to similarities in psychology and a general thematic continuity in mythological development by geographically related cultures. The Ashura cultus in Shiʿite Islam is based on an historical event and commemorates the death not of a god, but of a man who was intensely involved in the life of an actual community. Like other great men and religious heroes, Hussain the martyr continues to live on in the community through poetry, myth, and ritual, but above all through the actual events of the community’s history. Whatever its origins or relations to other religious phenomena, the Ashura cultus is yet another instance in human history of man’s attempt to deal creatively and meaningfully with his ephemeral condition. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist|30em}} | {{reflist|30em}} | ||